6 die, many injured in stampede at Tirupati

At least six people died and several others were injured in a stampede at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday evening as hundreds of devotees jostled for tickets for a religious event in the temple town, officials said.

- Srinivasa Rao Apparasu

HYDERABAD: Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu condoled the incident which, he said, "deeply disturbed" him.

The incident took place when a large number of devotees, who turned up from across the country, jostled for tickets for the annual Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam at Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple on Tirumala Hills, an official from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) said. The 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam (darshan of the deity from the northern entrance of the temple) commences from January 10.

"The death of several devotees in a stampede near Vishnu Niwasam in Tirupati for tokens to visit Tirumala Srivari Vaikuntha Dwara has shocked me. This tragic incident, which took place at a time when devotees had gathered in large numbers for tokens, deeply disturbed me," CM Naidu wrote in a post in Telugu on X.